Bricks and other molded articles.



" in the county of Rockland, State of New UNI ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Haney 'W. CrrAnL'roN, a citizen of. Canada, residing at. Jonespomt,

York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bricks and other Molded Articles; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descripi: tion of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in bricks, artificial marble,

artificial. stone, terra cotta, floor and roof tile, monuments, electrical insulators and the like; audit comprises a. novel method of producing such products and the novel.

bricks/and like products produced thereby.

The bricksand like products of the present invention are made from a cementing material resulting from the digestion with lime (or its equivalent, 6. 9., dolomitic lime, or lime and calcium carbonate or lime and I alkali-sodium or -potassium-salts)' of a silicate material, combined with rock materia-l and more particularly with sand, as Will be more fully hereinafter described.

When feldspar, leucite, potash mica,

greensand, or like alkali silicate, in a finely ground condition, is digested with lime inthe presence of water, under a. suitable pres sure and at a corresponding temperature, for a suflioient period of time, the greater ortion of the otash is liberated and goes into solution. here remains as a residue, a hydrated cementing material of a nature adapting, it particularly for use in the production of bricks and like products.

The hydrated or 'hydi ous material thus produced hasremarkable moisture retaining properties, being capable of retaining as -much as or more of Water when moist,

and containing, when dry, about twelve to fifteen per cent. of water ofcombination;

So* also, when so dried at a temperature slightly over 100, it forms a perfectly dry powder containing up to about fourteen or teen per c'ent.= of water of combination,

BRICKS AND OTHER MOLDED ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 28, 1917. Serial No; 165,133.

KARE/Y W, CHARLTON, OF JONESPOINT, NEW YORK.

From thirty to sixty parts of finely ground I,

feldsparare digested with from sixty to thirty parts of lime, (or lime and calcium carbonate, or lime and sodium and potasslum salts) and with from three hundred to fire hundred parts of Water, at a pressureabove about two hundred pounds, and at atemperature of, about 160 to 200 6., for period of from two to four hours. As the result of the reaction which takes place during this digestion, the. greater portionof the potash is liberated and goes-into. solution, leaving as a residue, a white solid which is filtered off and well washed and dried at a tempera ture slightly above 100 C. The white solid thus separated is a hydrous or hydrated amorphous material, containing considerable arnounts of Water which are removed during the drying operation. After filtering by the ordinary methods, and before drying, it usually contains from forty to sixty per cent. of Water. When driediat about 110 (1. it still retains frequentl ,jas mueh as fifteen per cent. Water of co bination.

This material, When so dried, can be easily compressed to nearly half its original volume. i

Microscopic study of the material obtained by digestion of feldspar with lime shows it to be of an amorphous nature, with some crystalline material and residual feldspar.

Soluble silica is obtainable from it with ease by treatment with dilute alkalis. Its action during subsequent hardening indicates that in chemical composition it is a somewhat complex substance which probably contains as its principal constituents silicate of lime and aluminates of lime and of the alkalis.

The reaction which takes place during digestion of feldspar with lime involves a breaking down rthe insoluble silicate, feldspar, with the probable formation of easily hydrolized silicates and aluminates, chiefly the former, of lower silicate ratio. These are in part at least amorphous, and very easily decomposable.

The following is an illustration of the composition of the cementing material obtained from feldspar.

Silica 32.53 per cent. Alumina 1.1.02 Calcium oxid 35.55

Loss on ignition 13.91

This cementing material, when mixed with sand or other suitable'rock material, even in a fairly coarse state of division, possesses remarkable cementing properties when subjected to steam pressure, yielding a hardened or set mass.

In .manufaeturing bricks or other hardened or set masses of any desired form and for various purposes, the cementing matcrial is intimately mixed with sand in proportions ranging from two to fifty per cent. of the cementing material. It isfound that abrick of fair hardness results when. but seven per cent. of the cementing material is used. After thorough n'lixture, the mass is molded or compressed and then subjected to a steaming operation. A suitable pressure is thus about two to seven tons per square inch'of surface and the steaming is then- .usuallv carried on for a period of eight to fifteen hours at a steam pressure of from about a hundred to a hundred and [it'ty pounds for a period of from eight to fifteen hours.

()wing to the soft; and plastic nature of the amorphous cen'icnting material it is uni- :lornily distributed around and among the sand grains so that they are inclnsed in a compact matrix. and so that the contacts between the. sand grains aml matrix are continuous and compltte. The matrix is made up l'argely'o'l? amorphous material surrounding the sand grains, and extending irregularly through the matrix. and consists largely of. hardened or set silicate ecmcnting material. Jrystallizcd hydrate of lime also occurs in the matrix, away from the sand grains and surrounded by and to some extent mingled with the amorphous material. Also embedded in the matrix and inclosed in the amorphous material, are unaltered finefeldspar grains which fill in between the sand grains and also serve as an dither products.

anchorage for the cement, thus strengtheningthe bond. I

The general result of the hardening process seems to be the development of the conipact tightly adhering amorphous silicate material as a strong hardened bond, and a marked development and coarsening of the calcium hydrate, the latter process adding strength to the structure as a whole.

The bricks and other products produced as above described moreover possess unusual hardness, and, when made from the amorphous cementing material derived from feldspar, are usually snow white in color and resemble marble in ap iiearance, and,

when'made from the material derived from green sand, are green in color. The molded products. moreover present sharp and firm edges. Small amounts of impurities do not seem to interfere with the snow white color of the products made with the cementing material derived from feldspar, but bricks and other molded products of various delicate shades of color or even of pronounced shades of color, or mottled effects. if'desired, can be produced by adding iron or other salts before the molding and .steaming operation, 0. 9., by adding the product obtained by digestion of green sand with lime and subsequent calci-nation. to give a butt-colored product. often have a. smooth t anslucent surface and a clear china-like rin They are characterizcd by their resistances to the corroding ac- The final p roducts' tion of air and water and are hence adapted for use in place of terra cotta, floor and roof tile, porcelain and various other materials and products. If very high pressure is employed in the production of these products they resemble granite in hardness and may be employed in monumental work or for various other purposes where hardness and resistance to the elements is an important feature.

In place of sand,'othor suitable rock mate rials can be used with the "hydrous cementing material in the production of bricks or Even sea sand has been found suitable for use in connection with this amorphous cementing material in the production of brick. since it has been found that the salt aecon'ipanying the sea sand does .not interfere with the. bonding prop-.

used with the hydrous material in the production of bricks according to the present invention.

The present'iuvention involves a steaming or hardening operation, in the production of bricks ja.i1d other articles, similar to that usedin the production of the so-called sand lime bricks; but the/utilization of the hydrous cementing material in the production of bricks and the like, according to the pres ent invention, presents very material advantages as compared with the utilization of lime with. sand, accordingto present prac- .tice, in the production of the sand-lime bricks.

According to the present invention, the amorphous cementing material is developed largely from the added cementing material, whereas in the common sand-lime brick manufacture the cementing action is dependout upon the, reaction between the sand and lime during, the hardening action. llhe amorphoiils cemci'iting imitcrial used according to the present invention is itself a cement in character which burdens and thus intensifies the cementing action. The prod acts of the priscnt' invention are accordingly distinguisned fromthe so-called sandlime bricksin being bound together in a new and characteristic manner by a mate rial which itscl'l' of the nature of a cement, and which itself has'distinctive and valuable and characteristic properties.

While the invention has been more par ticularly described in. connection with the utilization of a hydrous and amorphous cementing material derived from feldspar, yet

-it will be understood that other like silicates can be similarly treated to produce similar hydrous cementing materials and that even other material than alkali aluminum silicates (such feldspar, leucite, etc.) such, (2. 9., as clay, can be utilized as the source of the hydrous cementing material, when they have been subjected to a. proper treatment.

The hydrous material produced from feldspar has, however, been found to possess valuable characteristics which adapt it partibularly for use in the manner described,

and especially where snow white bricks and other products are desired. So also, while other rock materials than sand can be used with the cementing material to produce bricks and other products, sand has been found particularly valuable for this purpose, sincc products of greater strength re sult when it is used, some characteristic combination appearing to take place between the hydrous cementing material and the sand particles.

When the hydrous cementing material is derived from an alkali silicate,-such as fe1d spar and the like, by digestion with lime, and

with resulting solution and removal of usu ally the major portion of the potash, there 5 nevertheless remains in the hydrous cementing material some small amounts of undo composed feldspar and of unextrzlcted potash which vary somewhat in practice. When the hydrous material is thus produced and contains such small amounts of feldspar and potash, the final molded prod uct will-be similarly characterized by containing similar or corresponding amounts of feldspar and of potash or other alkali. This feldspar, however, does not appear to be prejudicial but rather advantageous when the hydrous cementing material is utilized according to the present invention for the production of bricks and other products.

I claim:

1. The method of making bricks and other molded articles, which comprises forming a molded mass-of rock material and a cementing material obtained by digestion of silirial obtained by digestion of silicate material with lime, and subjecting the molded mass to a steaming operation.

The method of making bricks and other molded articles, which comprises forming a molded mass of rock material and a cementing material obtained by digestion ofan alkali aluminum silicate with lime, and subjecting the molded mass to a steaming operation.

4Q The method of making bricks and other molded articles, which comprises forming a n'ioldcd mass of sand and a cementing mate rial obtained by digestion of an alkali alumimun silicate with lime, and subjecting the molded mass to a steaming operation.

5. The method of making bricks and other molded articles, which comprises forming a molded mass of rock material and a cementing material obtained by digestion of feldspar with lime, and subjecting the molded mass to a steaming operation. a

6. The method of making bricks and other molded articles, which comprises forming a molded mass of sand and a cementing material obtained by digestion of feldspar with lime, and subjecting the molded mass to a steaming operation.

7. As new articles ofiuanufacture, steam hardcnedbricks and :other molded articles, C0l'l1]')IlSlflg rock material and a cementing material obtained bydigestion of silicate material with lime.' v i 8.. As new artlcles of manufaeture,--steam hardened bricks andyother molded articles, 1

10 silicate with lime.

11. As new articles of manufacture, steam hardened bricks and other molded articles, comprising rock material and at cementing material obtained by digestion of feldspar with lime.

12. As new articles of manufacture, steam hardened bricks and other molded articles, comprising sand anda cementing materiai obtained by digestion of feldspar with lime.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. 20

HARRY W. CHARLTON. 

